The current estimated number of people visually impaired in the world is 285 million, of that, 246 million suffer from having low vision. There are an estimated 60 million people in the United States & Europe with low vision. Due to an aging populace, by 2030, vision loss rates will almost double. This is an average of 27.25 thousand per million population. Current products for treating people with a visual impairment have not kept pace with mainstream technology. The implementation of the Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) systems has not occurred outside of the gaming. There are qualities in AR and VR technology that can assist people that suffer from low vision and other uses that can move the AR and VR systems from its current novelty use to a life changing system.
Others have attempted to provide some assistance using proprietary systems, such as, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 8,135,227 to Esight Corporation, titled “Apparatus and method for augmenting sight.” Disadvantageously, the Esight patent requires extensive involvement of medical and ophthalmological personnel to: determine “the locations of retinal damage in an eye of the patient” and obtain “an image of a scene viewed by the patient” and then “mapping, using a processor, the image to a display in such a way to avoid the locations of retinal damage when the display is viewed by the patient.” This process, while workable, does not take into the consideration the time and effort required to accomplish this task. Further, the Esight invention must be recalibrated every time the patient's eyesight changes. This non-adjustable, time consuming method is unsuited to seniors or others with low vision as they must continually have the system adjusted by professionals.
Along with the Esight system noted above, other available systems and methods have failed to develop deliverable markets. Each product attempts to solve a singular vision issue by making complicated technology. To date, many virtual and augmented reality wearable systems developed have not lived up to expectations or have simply failed to deliver any results.
These factors have stalled wide implementation of AR/VR. Current low vision technology solutions prevented these collaborative efforts due to limitations in portability, weight and size. Current products use a lot of space which is why few eye doctors dispense them to patients or end users. The currently available platforms are not internet enabled and applications cannot be added. Most comprise both proprietary hardware and software in an attempt to “lock” users into a particular platform ecosystem. The products also require a technician to go to the user's home to install the system. Many require the user to go to a doctor and have the system calibrated to what the doctor believes is the best view for them. Currently available technology is not portable and cannot be used outside the home with few exceptions. Thereby limiting the usefulness of the system.
Additionally, using AR/VR in the surgical and dental space has been limited to one set of magnification only, the current devices cannot record, take pictures, email, or link back the surgery to electronic medical records. The currently available surgical and dental loupes are also heavy which create neck strain on the doctor.
Therefore, there is a need for an augmented reality system for vision, operable and upgradeable on different hardware platforms that is easily adjustable by the user.